Brighter Fostering Limited

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Brighter Fostering Limited 1 Brighter Fostering Limited Brighter Fostering Limited Suite F, 2nd Floor, Mabgate Mills, Mill 2, Leeds LS9 7DZ Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

Brighter Fostering is a small independent fostering agency. It currently has 10 approved fostering households. There are 10 children living within eight fostering families. The fostering agency registered with Ofsted in November 2021. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since the fostering agency was registered.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The independent fostering agency is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

This independent fostering agency was judged ‘inadequate’ at its first full inspection, which took place between 24 July and 1 August 2023. The inspectors found significant shortfalls and regulatory breeches. As a result, two compliance notices under section 22 of the Care Standards Act 2000 were issued, under Regulation 8 (Registered person – general requirements) and Regulation 11 (Independent fostering agencies – duty to secure welfare). A monitoring visit took place on 14 September 2023. At that visit, the inspector found that the provider had taken sufficient action to meet the compliance notices. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Brighter Fostering Limited 2

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improvement to be good

The provider has made improvements in the running of this independent fostering agency. However, it is too soon to understand the longer-term impact the changes will have on the experiences of children and their fostering families. Further improvements are needed to ensure that all children and foster carers have a consistently positive experience.

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improvement to be good

Most children have a positive experience of living with their foster carers, and they are making progress. They feel included within the family and are happy. One child said, ‘I feel healthy and clean.’ Another child said, ‘[Name of foster carer] really cares for us.’ In addition, observations of foster carers and children during the inspection were positive. However, some children have experienced poor care for too long before effective action was taken. This hinders their progress. These children are now receiving appropriate care.

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improvement to be good

Foster carers value children’s education. Children have good attendance at school and are doing well. Foster carers communicate well with teachers and school staff, and they attend parents’ evenings. This ensures a shared understanding of the children’s learning needs and progress. One child is visiting the Caribbean with school because of their excellent attitude to learning and the progress they have made. When children do not have an appropriate education placement in place, or alternative education is needed, the agency works well with the virtual school and puts in place independent advocacy to ensure that children have a voice.

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improvement to be good

Foster carers understand the needs of the children because they work in partnership with professionals. Foster carers attend school meetings and planning meetings with the local authority. In most circumstances, the relevant information is held on children’s records. However, one child does not have a current local authority plan. While the agency has repeatedly asked for this, the managers have not escalated their concerns to leaders within the local authority to ensure that they receive this.

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improvement to be good

Most children have lived with their foster carers for a year or more. This has provided them with stability and a sense of belonging. When a child’s place within their foster family becomes fragile, the agency and the local authority work closely together with foster carers to help stabilise the situation. If a decision to move a child is made, the agency ensures that the child is consulted and has a say in their future plans.

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improvement to be good

The agency works closely with local authorities when considering any new children who need a home. However, the managers do not record the actions that they have taken to reassure themselves they have all the right information. While records for one child identified that they had a medical diagnosis, the managers did not record Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Brighter Fostering Limited 3 what actions they took to ensure that the foster carer had the right skills to care for the child before the child moved in.

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improvement to be good

Qualified staff now complete assessments of all new foster carers, and the registered manager has oversight of this work. Assessments are timely and improving in quality. However, there are occasions when the assessments do not contain sufficient information for the fostering panel to make a recommendation on the suitability to foster. On one occasion, this created a three-month delay in the carer receiving their approval. This impacts on the availability of foster carers when children need a home.

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improvement to be good

The agency’s response to serious incidents involving children is improving. The registered manager ensures that a qualified social worker responds to concerns about the safety and welfare of children placed with foster carers. Records kept by the agency now show the actions that they have taken to keep children safe. In addition, the provider is now consulting more effectively with the local authority designated officer when concerns about foster carer practice arise.

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improvement to be good

Safer care plans tell foster carers what they must do to keep children safe. The supervising social worker reviews and updates safer care plans when children’s circumstances change. When risk to individual children is known, the provider ensures that foster carers have measures in place to ensure the child’s safety. However, the agency does not always ensure that the foster carers are supporting the children to understand how they can keep themselves safe online.

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improvement to be good

Children said that their foster carers help them, and that they feel safe. Children said that they would tell their foster carer, or another trusted adult, if they were worried. One child who has not always had a positive experience of foster care with this agency feels happy and included in their new foster family and they have started to settle.

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improvement to be good

No children have been missing from home. The provider has a missing-from-home policy in place, and the foster carers understand what actions they must take, should this occur.

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improvement to be good

Children benefit from having good routines and boundaries. They understand what is expected of them and, overall, children behave well. Training is in place to help foster carers understand how best to support children and encourage positive behaviour. As a result, foster carers have not had to physically hold children to keep them safe.

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improvement to be good

The supervising social worker completes unannounced visits to foster homes at least annually. Where there are concerns about a foster carer’s practice, the visits are more frequent. In addition, children are visited by their social worker and have regular opportunities to talk to trusted professionals away from their foster carers. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Brighter Fostering Limited 4 Since the last inspection, new foster panel members have been recruited. The agency has followed safer recruitment processes, including seeking appropriate references and ensuring that any gaps in employment are explored. There is now a system in place to ensure that the managers make a record of the interview, which is kept on the staff member’s file.

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improvement to be good

First-aid training is now in place. While one foster carer has not yet completed this training, others within their household have. Plans are in place for this foster carer to complete the training. This helps to ensure that foster carers understand how to respond to children in a medical emergency.

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good

The registered manager continues to work from the office two days every fortnight. The remainder of the time she works from home, which is some distance away. The registered manager makes herself available to staff and foster carers on the days she is not local to the office base. She continues to cover the out-of-hours service every other week. There have been no further concerns raised about the registered manager’s integrity.

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good

The statement of purpose does not accurately reflect what is on offer from the agency. The responsible individual is given numerous titles, including complaints officer, which suggests there are more staff than there are. The children’s guide continues to refer to the children’s champion role that is no longer in place. The children’s guide comes in two age-related versions. Both contain the required information, for example how to make a complaint. However, these are lengthy documents, and some of the language and content is not child-friendly.

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good

Supervision sessions for the staff are regular and well recorded. The registered manager uses reflective discussions to explore the staff’s practice and to support them to be professionally curious. The registered manager is evaluative in her recording, and learning is evident. The staff have the opportunity to discuss personal matters and their ideas for shaping the fostering service. This is helping to improve what is on offer to children.

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good

The registered manager is becoming more confident because she is now receiving good-quality monthly supervision from a suitably qualified and experienced practitioner. The registered manager is using this to consider all aspects of the running of the agency, as well as reflecting on her own practice.

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good

The quality of supervision sessions for foster carers has improved. Supervision visits are well planned and regular. The discussions remain child-centred and consider relevant matters. There is a focus on risk and keeping children safe. Previous discussions are revisited. This helps foster carers to learn and reflect. Foster carers are encouraged to be open about any changes in their circumstances and consider Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Brighter Fostering Limited 5 what this could mean for their fostering role. A high percentage of foster carers shared positive experiences of the support they receive from the agency.

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good

The fostering panel is now independent of the fostering agency. The responsible individual no longer takes any part in the fostering panel. Fostering panel members have a range of relevant experience and the diversity of panel members reflects that of the foster carers and children. Agency decisions are made in a timely manner. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Brighter Fostering Limited 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 and the national minimum standards. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

keep under review and, where appropriate, revise the statement of purpose and children’s guide,

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Requirement Due date

notify the Chief Inspector of any such revision within 28 days, and

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Requirement Due date

if the children’s guide is revised, supply a copy to each foster parent approved by the fostering service provider, and to each child placed by them (subject to the child’s age and understanding). (Regulation 4 (a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the fostering service must ensure that the statement of purpose is kept up to date and sets out clearly the role of each staff member. In addition, the children’s guide must set out accurately what children can expect from the agency in a format that is accessible and child-friendly. 30 June 2024

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Requirement Due date

must obtain the information specified in Schedule 3 relating to X and other members of X’s household and family, and any other information they consider relevant.

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Requirement Due date

Having regard to the information obtained under paragraph (2), the fostering service provider must—

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Requirement Due date

consider whether X is suitable to be a foster parent and whether X’s household is suitable for any child. (Regulation 26 (2)(a) (3)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the fostering service must ensure that assessments are of sufficient quality and include a thorough evaluation of how these may affect a family’s suitability to foster. 30 June 2024 Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Brighter Fostering Limited 7

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Recommendations

 The fostering service should ensure that children are helped to understand how to keep themselves safe, including when outside of the household or when using the internet or social media. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 4.4)  The fostering service should ensure that, prior to the placement of each child, the fostering service follows up with the responsible authority any gaps in the information provided to them on the child or the child’s family that may hinder the foster carer in providing a safe caring environment that meets the child’s needs and enables them to keep the child and any other children in the fostering household and the foster carer safe. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 15.2)  The fostering service should ensure that, when the provision of the child’s individual care plan by the responsible authority is delayed, the fostering service addresses this with the local authority, including escalating to senior leaders

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Recommendations

within the local authority if required. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 31.2)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 and the national minimum standards. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Brighter Fostering Limited 8

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: Brighter Fostering Limited

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: Suite F, 2nd Floor, Mabgate Mills, Mill 2, Leeds LS9 7DZ

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Independent fostering agency details

Email address: admin@brighterfostering.co.uk

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Inspector

Rachel Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Brighter Fostering Limited 9 to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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